T R 1 



T R I 



TRIFALTIGKERT, in Geography, a town of Pruffia, 

 in Natangen ; i6 miles S.S.E. of Kbnigfberg. 



TRIFAX, among the Romans, ajavelin three cubits long, 

 which was thrown by the catapulta. 



TRIFELS, in Geography, a citadel of France, in the de- 

 partment of Mont Tonnerre. Here Richard I., king of 

 England, was kept, when he appeared before the diet of 

 Worms; i mile S.E. of Anweiler. 



TRIFOLIASTRUM, in 5oteRj,Baftard Trefoil, aname 

 given by Micheli, Nov. Gen. PI. 26. t. 25, to fuch fpecies 

 of Tnfolium as have their legume projefting beyond the calyx, 

 which he, on that account, feparates from thence. Neither 

 the charaAer, nor the name, has met with the fanftion of 

 following writers. See Trifohum. 



TRIFOLIUM, ifilxtT^Mi of the Greeks, Trefle of the 

 French, from which latt is more immediately derived our 

 Trefoil; names all expreffive of the fame idea, of the 

 three leaves, or leaflets, growing on one ftalk, which is fo 



charafteriftic of this popular and well-known genus 



Linn. Gen. 387. Schreb. 509. Willd. Sp. PI. v. 3. 1352. 

 Enum. 791. Mart. Mill. Dift. v. 4. Sm. Fl. Brit. 781. 

 Prodr. Fl. Grxc. Sibth. v. 2. 93. Ait. Hort. Kew. v. 4. 

 378. PurOi 477. Juff. 355. Tourn. t. 228. Lamarck 

 Illuflr. t. 613. Poiret in Lam. Dift. v. 8. i. Gaertn. 

 t. 153. (Melilotus; Tourn. t. 229. Willd. Enum. 789. 

 Juff. 356. Lamarck lUuftr. t. 613. Trifoliaftrum ; Mich. 

 Gen. 26. t. 25. Lupinailer ; Buxb. in Comm. Petropol. 

 V. 2. 345. t. 20. Lupulinum ; Rivin. Tetrap Irr. t. 10. 

 Lagopus ; ibid. t. 15 — 17. Triphylloides ; Ponted. An- 

 thoT. 240.) — Clafs and order, Diadelphia Decandria. Nat. 

 Ord. PapiUonacea, Linn. Legurmnof<z, JufT. 



Gen. Ch. Cal. Perianth inferior, of one leaf, tubular, 

 fiv-e-toothed, permanent. Cor. papilionaceous, with long 

 claws, moftly permanent, withering ; ftandard reflexed ; 

 wings fhorter than the ftandard ; keel of one petal, fliorter 

 than the wings. Stam. Filaments two, diftinft, one fimple, 

 one in nine fegments ; anthers fimple, roundifh. P'ljl. 

 Germen oblong-ovate ; ftyle awl-(haped, afcending ; ftigma 

 fimple, fmooth. Per'ic. Legume fiiort, of one valve, and 

 one cell, not burfting, fcarcely exceeding the calyx in 

 length, deciduous. Seeds one to four, roimdKh. 



Eff. Ci. Calyx tubular, five-cleft. Keel fimple, fhorter 

 than the wings and ftandard. Stigma fmooih. Legume 

 not burfting, deciduous, fcarcely longer than the calyx. 

 Seeds very few. 



All botanifts have perceived the difficulty of defining the 

 technical charafters of this genus, and yet none can be, in 

 itfelf, more natural. Linnaeus reckoned it the moft difficult 

 in the whole vegetable kingdom to diicriminate by any cffen- 

 tial mark. He comprehends under Trifolium, as may be 

 feen above, various other genera of good fyftematic writers, 

 differing among themfelves as follows. Melilotus of Tourne- 

 fort and JufGeu, has a legume longer than the calyx, with 

 loofely fpiked flowers ; Trifol'tajlrum of Micheli, a legimie 

 longer than the calyx, with capitate flowers : Lupinajler of 

 Buxbaum, a legume with feveral feeds, and five leaflets in 

 each leaf: Lupulinum of Rivinus, a permanent corolla, 

 whofe ftandard is inflexed and flattifh, ribbed or plaited : 

 Lagopus of the fame author, a fhaggy calyx, equal in length 

 to the corolla : and finally Triphylloides of Pontedera, has a 

 monopetalous corolla, the ftandard wings and keel being all 

 tmited into one tube ; which is likevi'ife the cafe with a 

 great many more fpecies than this author, or Linnaeus, has 

 indicated. 



Linnxus admitted the inflorefcence as a part of his natu- 

 ral, and even his effential, charatter of this genus, defining 

 it " a little umbel or head." He was always very unwilling 



to adopt this meafure, and we prefume to think he has, in 

 no cafe, reforted to it with advantage. In the prefent it is 

 neither correft nor difcriminative, fcarcely any fpecies being 

 really umbellate, and though many are capitate, as many 

 are fpiked, while feveral are racemofe. We have therefore 

 followed the example of Juffieu, who in this inif ance wifely 

 lays afide the inflorefcence ; attempting a more full and ex- 

 plicit character from the parts of frudification themfelves. 

 In natural affinity the prefent genus comes neareft to Tri- 

 GONELLA, which will prefently follow in alphabetical order.^ 

 Some of the Meliloti efpecially, clofely accord therewith, 

 both in charafters, habit, and qualities, particularly in an 

 appropriate fcent, allied to that of new hay and bitter 

 almonds, moft powerful, and very permanent, in the dried 

 herbage. Some compare it to the fmell of a pig-ftye. 

 The Blue Melilot, and Common Fenugreek, poffefs this 

 odour in the greateft perfeftion. 



Trifolium is a very extenfive genus. Linnaeus has forty- 

 fix fpecies in the fourteenth edition of his Syjfema VegeU' 

 biimm; Willdenovv has feventy-two in his Sp. PI — Eighteen 

 are natives of Britain. Fifty-fix are enumerated by Mr, 

 Alton in his Horlus Keiuenjis. We have three to add from 

 the Prodr. Fl. Gritc., two or three American ones of Mr. 

 Purfli, and a few from other fources. It is neceflary to 

 take a view of the whole, partly for their more correft bo- 

 tanical diftindtion, though in general they are better defined 

 than the fpecies of moft, equally extenfive and natural, 

 genera. A correft knowledge of thefe plants is fupremely 

 important to the agriculturift ; becaufe the qualities of 

 fome, very near in external appearance, differ widely 

 in utility ; and becaufe there are many, hitherto Uttle 

 obferved, which promife to be as valuable as any of the 

 reft. Some of thefe are known and cultivated in other 

 countries, and others may be well worthy of trial. Unlefs 

 they are firft accurately diftinguifhed, nothing refpefting 

 them can either be perfeftly underftood, or clearly com- 

 municated. 1 

 The fpecies are diftributed into five very natural feftions, j 

 and are all herbaceous. Some in each feftion are annual, 1 

 others perennial. The jlems are branched. Leanxs al- 

 ternate, more or lefs ftalked, of three, moftly obovate, and 

 equal, toothed or entire, rarely linear, leaflets, with a pair of 

 membranous ribbed _^;^u/<m united to the bafe of the foot - 

 Jialk. Inflorefcence terminal or lateral, generally ftalked, 

 either tufted, capitate, fpiked or racemofe. Flowers red, 

 purplifh, white or yellow ; fometimes, though rarely, 

 fragrant. 



Seft. I. Meliloti. Legumes projeSing beyond the calyx ; 

 ivith feveral feeds. Flowers racemofe. 



I. T. caruleum. Blue Melilot Trefoil. Linn. Sp. PL 

 1077. Willd. n. I. Ait. n. i. Bieberft. Taur. v. 2. 

 207. (T. odoratum ; Ger. Em. 1 195. Mehlotus caeru- 

 lea ; Rivin. Tetrap. Irr. t. 9. Lotus fylveftris ; Camcr. 

 Epit. 894; not 724, as in Willd. and Ait. after Linn, j 

 tlie latter being T. arvenfe. A good coloured figure is 

 wanting.) — Clufters roundifti-ovate, long-ftalked. Le- 

 gumes half-naked, beaked, with flight longitudinal ribs, and 

 two feeds. Stem ereft. Stipulas entire. — Native of Bo- 

 hemia, Tauria, Germany, &c. in dry barren ground, flower- 

 ing in fummer. Cultivated in our gardens, for curiofity, 

 ever fince the time of Turner, Gerarde, &c. The root is 

 annual, fibrous. Stem two or three feet high, fmooth, an- 

 gular, leafy, fcarcely branched. Leaflets pale, eUiptical, 

 toothed, an inch long, fmooth ; the odd one ftalked. 

 Flowers pale blue, in numerous, folitary, long-ftalked, 

 axillary heads, all the way up the ftem. The whole plant, 

 either frelli or dried, has a fweet liquorice-bkc fcent, lafting 

 5 a great 



